In early December of 2016, clinics in Britain were told that they are now allowed to create children with a father and two mothers. Parliament legalised the procedure over 2 years ago but now The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) have scientifically approved these formations after the most recent evidence of the procedure treatment was successful.

On average one in 10,000 new-borns are affected by mitochondrial diseases causing the children to die young as the urgent need of energy lacks in the vital organs such as the brain, heart, muscles.

The technique allows doctors to replace an egg’s defective mitochondrial DNA with healthy DNA from a female donor to stop children being born to suffer enfeebling conditions such as muscular dystrophy. Last year on the 6th August a baby boy was born in the US after being created from the DNA of three people, the new-born appears healthy but doctors are unsure whether there will be any sign of disease until he grows older.

Doug Turnbull is the director of the Wellcome Centre and for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University and says that his team have carefully selected 25 women a year to reduce their risk of passing on genetic diseases. ‘We are delighted by today’s decision as it paves the way to offering mitochondrial donation as part of an NHS-funded package of care for families affected by mitochondrial DNA disease’.

The UK is the first ever country to legalise three-parent baby IVF and this is a huge optimistic step into the future of the prevention of harmful, hereditary diseases.